Corvette to become a mid-engine?

[Leadeye]

The only car I've ever driven with the engine behind me was a Lotus Europa back in the 70s. I just couldn't get used to the engine back there and it was made for smaller people with smaller feet.

 

[rhino]

The only car I've ever driven with the engine behind me was a Lotus Europa back in the 70s. I just couldn't get used to the engine back there and it was made for smaller people with smaller feet.

My first car was a '74 Volkswagen bug. Rear engine! No heat! Top speed: 86 MPH and it took a few miles to reach that shocking level.

 

[femurphy77]

They killed off the Fiero when it was getting interesting.

Introduced with the no-power, boat-anchor-heavy 2.5L Iron Duke and a 4 speed. Eventually, it got the 2.8L V6 and a 5 speed. The 2.8 was not a powerhouse, but it eventually became a 3.4L DOHC. Even as the 2.8L, in that little thing, it had get up and go. It also outgrew its Chevette front suspension and started to turn by about ‘87.

Yup. '88 they finally got it right and killed it.

 

[churchmouse]

The only car I've ever driven with the engine behind me was a Lotus Europa back in the 70s. I just couldn't get used to the engine back there and it was made for smaller people with smaller feet.

Pantera. Friends dad was sales manager for a Mercury dealer and he would roll one home on occasion. He would get drunk and pass out. My buddy would take the keys and come get me. How we ever got that car home in one piece still amazes me cause my buddy sucked at the skills required to wheel one of those.

 

[miguel]

Last time I saw a paint job like that was at Stalingrad.

 

[DRob]

Regardless of where they put the engine, that car needs a lot more tire! And, yes it does look like a NSX.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Personal hypothesis: 85% of the time you see a Corvette on the road, it will be piloted by an old white guy.

Personally, I'm not necessarily a huge fan of most Corvettes. Especially the majority of the 80s-2010s. The 1996 Grand Sport is a notable exception. I do tend to like the looks of the older ones. Especially my neighbor's '63 Split Window Coupe that's had a frame-off restoration done on it. SOME trim levels and color combinations of newer models are also nice to look at. There's a fairly new 'Vette for sale near my house. It's on Smith Valley Road just west of the RR tracks that are, in turn, just west of SR 135. It's white with red trim. No big huge spoiler on the back. It's a good looking car.

But for my money, if I had the $ to burn on a sports car, would probably be a Porsche Cayman vs. Corvette.

 

[SmileDocHill]

I'm not a car guy but I used to know an indy 500 driver that had the chance to drive a corvette around the 500 track at whatever speed he deemed safe.
His take home was that they are a death machine as a race car. Less than impressed is an understatement. "Not to be used as a car to drive fast in" was his take on them.

 

[Route 45]

Last time I saw a paint job like that was at Stalingrad.

That type of paint job is commonly used to help camouflage the lines of a prototype car that is in testing.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Last time I saw a paint job like that was at Stalingrad.

It's not paint, it's a vinyl-like cladding. Car manufacturers use it to hide the body lines, sometimes even putting "fake" body pieces or headlamps on under the cladding to disrupt what the actual silhouette will look like. There's usually some similar draping or cladding in the interior to hide everything but a few gauges.

 

[Tactically Fat]

I'm not a car guy but I used to know an indy 500 driver that had the chance to drive a corvette around the 500 track at whatever speed he deemed safe.
His take home was that they are a death machine as a race car. Less than impressed is an understatement. "Not to be used as a car to drive fast in" was his take on them.

How long ago was this?

 

[HoughMade]

How long ago was this?

Good question.

From everything I've read, for the last 10 years, for a road car, Corvettes have been fantastic on the track.

 

[jkaetz]

I'm not a car guy but I used to know an indy 500 driver that had the chance to drive a corvette around the 500 track at whatever speed he deemed safe.
His take home was that they are a death machine as a race car. Less than impressed is an understatement. "Not to be used as a car to drive fast in" was his take on them.

Here's one that disagrees with that statement.

[video=youtube;mY8oJJcsa1A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY8oJJcsa1A[/video]

 

[Tactically Fat]

Good question.

From everything I've read, for the last 10 years, for a road car, Corvettes have been fantastic on the track.

That's what I was getting at.

 

[rhino]

Pantera. Friends dad was sales manager for a Mercury dealer and he would roll one home on occasion. He would get drunk and pass out. My buddy would take the keys and come get me. How we ever got that car home in one piece still amazes me cause my buddy sucked at the skills required to wheel one of those.

Those were cool!

I had Corgi and Matchbox Panteras back in the early 1970s.

 

[bgcatty]

Front engine pfft. How antiquated. Almost as bad as rear engine.

Rear engine cars rule. Porsche, there is no substitute!

 

[ChristianPatriot]

Rear engine cars rule. Porsche, there is no substitute!

Meh. If I had Porsche money to spend on a sport car, it wouldn’t be spent on those Volkswagens.

 

[Ericpwp]

Test Drive 3! circa 1990

WIKI

CERV III

1986 Corvette Indy
The project would become the CERV III (Corporate Engineering Research Vehicle III) was first unveiled at Detroit Automobile Show in January 1986 as the Corvette Indy prototype car. The vehicle featured 4-wheel drive, 4-wheel steering, and CRT cockpit screens. The vehicle was styled by Chief of Chevy III Studio, Jerry Palmer.




1990 CERV III
In January 1990, CERV III (No. 3) made its debut at the International Auto Show in Detroit. The car's mid-mounted V-8 is a 5.7-liter 32-valve, dual-overhead cam LT5, with twin turbos and internal modifications, giving it 650 hp (485 kW), 655 lb⋅ft (888 N⋅m)- torque, and a top speed of 225 mph (362 km/h). The car was made of carbon fiber with a fiberglass-finish coating, with estimated price of $300k-400k. Other standard features include computer-controlled active suspension system, ABS braking and traction control, six-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel-drive and four-wheel steering along with a fully multiplexed electrical architecture.


CERV III (No. 3) is a playable car in Test Drive III, under the name 'Chevrolet Cerv III', where CERV means 'Corporate Experimental Research Vehicle'.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Rear engine cars rule. Porsche, there is no substitute!

Sure, if you need to let your wife drive it, too.

 

[churchmouse]

I'm not a car guy but I used to know an indy 500 driver that had the chance to drive a corvette around the 500 track at whatever speed he deemed safe.
His take home was that they are a death machine as a race car. Less than impressed is an understatement. "Not to be used as a car to drive fast in" was his take on them.

And that would be whom exactly.....
How long ago.